Abstract
With a growing population with changing demands, competition for the global land resource is increasing. We need to feed a projected population of 9–10 billion by 2050, rising to approximately 12 billion by 2100. At the same time, we need to reduce the climate impact of agriculture, forestry and other land use, and we almost certainly need to deliver land-based greenhouse gas removal for additional climate change mitigation. In addition, we need to deliver progress towards meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, all without compromising the many ecosystem services provided by land and without exceeding planetary boundaries. Managing the land to tackle these pressing issues is a major global challenge. In this perspective paper, I provide a very broad overview of the main challenges, and explore co-benefits, trade-offs and possible solutions.
Highlights
We need to deliver progress towards meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, all without compromising the many ecosystem services provided by land and without exceeding planetary boundaries
Finding land management options that co-deliver across a number of global challenges is difficult, but as described in this article, experimental networks [56,57], modelling tools [9,57,58] and spatial analysis [44,45,48,49] are helping to identify potential co-benefits and trade-offs
Because so many land management options show potential trade-offs, policy-makers need strong evidence to support decisions that they make, and to assess and mitigate the risks associated with those decisions
Summary
There are a number of global challenges that critically depend on the land if they are to be tackled successfully These include food security [1], climate change mitigation [2,3,4] and the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [5,6]. (4) Ecosystem services and planetary boundaries: All of these challenges need to be met without compromising the ability of the land to deliver the many ecosystem services it provides, such as food, fibre and energy provision, provision of water, pollination services, climate regulation, nutrient cycling, hazard prevention, biodiversity and genetic resources, pollution control, the quality of soil, air and water, and delivery of cultural services I discuss some of these below and examine how scientific knowledge can be used to deliver real-world solutions, before in the final section suggesting some options that have the potential to co-deliver on a range of fronts, with relatively few risks of adverse side effects
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